Making water safety a priority

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - With the long weekend and the start of summer approaching, community life educator Mellissa Hajdar says water safety is something to keep in mind.

“Whether it’s on the boat, in the water, or getting ready to do water sports or actually doing water sports, never hurts to have a lifejacket, even those who are established swimmers never a bad idea, also for adults too. With phones and being on the boat, different things like that, it’s easy to get distracted,” Hajdar said.

While enjoying the warm weather, being safe in the water should remain a conscious effort.

“Digging into stats and things like that we know those drownings are happening, it happens to adults too right? So, um individuals of all ages. But we know it is still happening. Especially in our kind of lakes area or even North Dakota being rural, having a lot of open bodies of water,” Hadjar said.

Lifejackets are key in preventing such things from happening and making sure they are the right fit is just as important.

“So lifejackets typically go by weight. So, first we wanna make sure we’re following those weight requirements. We wanna make sure we have a lifejacket even for those itty bitties, and they’re definitely out there. Make sure it’s buckled, you know, fastened correctly. We’ll have little ones raise up their arms or shoulders, and we never want that life jacket to go above their chin or their ears,” Hadjar said.

Minnesota and North Dakota both have state laws requiring life jackets. So, above all, you can never be too safe.

“You can never be too safe being proactive. Um, having the education, knowing where the resources are. Having different lifejackets and, um, different items in your toolbox is never a bad idea,” Hadjar said.

To learn more about life jackets and water safety, you can visit www.safekids.org.

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